It looks like Alexander Ovechkin is finally going to be suspended. In October, he got away with a slew-foot on Rich Peverley of the Atlanta Thrashers. The NHL treated him as a first time offender and let him off without a suspension because they had overlooked a handful of other transgressions in the past. He got away with a knee on knee hit on Sergei Gonchar in last year’s playoffs. There had been a hit from behind on Jamie Heward (who has not played since) and a late hit on Daniel Briere. Last week, Ovechkin received a game misconduct and a major penalty for boarding Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres, but once again was not suspended. Last night, he had a knee on knee hit on Tim Gleason of the Carolina Hurricanes. It was Ovechkin who took the worst of the hit and left the game without returning (Gleason did return), but it was clear that Ovechkin instigated the hit. Given the NHL’s recent suspensions, it is clear that they will have to suspend Ovechkin. They recently suspended Georges Laraque of the Montreal Canadiens for five games for a similar knee-on-knee hit on Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings. At this point, the NHL must suspend Ovechkin right?

RALEIGH, NC— Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team will place defenseman Joe Corvo on injured reserve with a leg injury suffered Monday night in Raleigh against the Washington Capitals. In addition, the team has reassigned forward Patrick Dwyer to Albany of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Corvo suffered a laceration of his lower right leg from the skate of Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner during a collision in the first period of the game, and was transported to Rex Hospital. There, Dr. Marty Isbell of Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic performed surgery to repair the injuries suffered. Corvo is expected to miss 8-12 weeks of action.

The holiday season in New York City tends to be a good time for Broadway as out-of-towners stream into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, do a bit of shopping and catch a show before heading back home. Or they come to visit family, which inevitably leads to the host trying to find an activity you can do together while being silent for two or three hours. There are plenty of fine choices in our city’s theatres, but it’s hard to imagine there’s a better one-man show in town than Marian Gaborik.

Any day now, possibly today, slick center Marc Savard is expected to sign his new contract with the Bruins, a seven-year extension beginning in 2010-11 with an average cap hit in the $4.5 million-$4.8 million range.

A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the general terms of the deal and that the contract would be signed imminently.

continued and now those made-up rumors of Savard heading to Toronto can be put where they belong…

Ballard didn’t talk to the media after tonight’s game, which is understandable considering what he went through with accidentally smacking goalie Tomas Vokoun in the head with his stick and then having the winning Thrashers’ goal score on a shot off his stick.

I feel bad for him personally.

Yes, what he did was stupid, and unneccessary. But I see players smashing their sticks on the crossbar or post after a goal or after a loss all the time. It’s as common in hockey as fighting.

That said, I wonder if players around the league will think twice now before doing it. Bryan Allen said after the game: “I’ve done the same thing—break a stick on the post—and I didn’t even think twice. Obviously I won’t do it again. I’m sure he won’t either.

I give Ballard credit for coming back and playing. If it was me and I had skated off the ice in shock and horror at what happened, I’m not sure I could have come back on the ice again that night.

Alright, old school coaches. Maybe Gordie Howe was the greatest hockey player to ever live. I’ll make the concession that it’s at least a possibility (though I highly doubt it), but you’ve got to come together with me on a few things:

I’ll admit that Gordie Howe was one of the greatest to play the game if you admit that the new sticks are better than the old ones — because they are.

Today’s sticks don’t break more frequently than wood ones; in fact, they break less often. NHL players used to go through 100 of the wood ones per year. People see that newer sticks are made of a composite material and then somehow think that means they should last for all eternity. They’re made to be better, not indestructible. You do know they’re better, right?

Briere has missed the last three games - two because of an NHL-mandated suspension and one because of the flu. He was back at practice yesterday and will return to the lineup Thursday against visiting Vancouver.

His return is welcomed. Without him, the Flyers had a total of four goals in the three games. Briere is second on the team with 10 goals, even though he has played in only 17 of the 24 contests.

“You don’t change a team with one guy, but I hope I can help out in that department. That’s my game, the offensive side,” said Briere, who will try to ignite a power play that has failed in its last nine chances.

“Goals have been tougher to come lately, but there’s always stretches like that in a season,” he said. “You have to try to go back to the basics.

“We put a lot of pucks on net in Atlanta, but maybe [we should be] trying to get around the goalie a little more, trying to screen a little more - get our noses dirty in that area to find loose pucks instead of giving the goalie a chance to see everything.”

Toronto Star photographer Steve Russell is used to shooting the story, not being shot at.

Midway through the third period of Monday night’s Leaf game, Russell took a shot off his right cheekbone from Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

Miller, clearing the puck, shot toward the glass. In a kind of million-to-one shot, the puck somehow went through a little cutout area in the glass where photographers aim their cameras.

“He wasn’t shooting it hard, he was just throwing it into the corner,” said Russell, whose camera was slightly lowered at the time while he followed the play. “If it was a hard shot, I would have got a lot more messed up. It went right straight through the hole and hit me square in the cheekbone.”

David Freeman, the chairman and governor of the Nashville Predators, has a $3.35-million (all currency U.S.) tax lien on his house and admits to cash-flow problems but both he and the NHL claim there are no concerns about the financial health of his hockey team.

However, since the Predators owners have to maintain a guarantee of up to $50-million with the city of Nashville that is based on their net worth along with other obligations, the lien raises a number of red flags.

There is also the security that has to be maintained with the team’s major lender, CIT Group, which is owed at least $85-million. CIT is in the middle of bankruptcy reorganization, which further complicates matters. Another problem is a drop in attendance this season, which could lower the amount the Predators earn from the NHL’s revenue-sharing plan.

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